Channel access for a mixed numerology carrier

ABSTRACT

In a radio air interface, a mixed-numerology carrier is one that multiplexes orthogonal frequency division multiplexed (OFDM) waveforms that have different numerologies onto the same carrier. This disclosure provides for a sync signal (SS) enabling channel access for such a mixed-numerology carrier. In one example, a single SS, having a given numerology, supports channel access for a plurality of numerologies on the mixed-numerology carrier. In another example, a plurality of numerologies on the mixed-numerology carrier each has its own respective SS, and a single, common numerology is used for all SS&#39;s. In still another example, a plurality of numerologies on the mixed-numerology carrier each has its own respective SS, where each SS has the same numerology as the numerology for which the SS provides channel access.

PRIORITY CLAIM

This application is a Continuation of Non-Provisional patent applicationSer. No. 16/039,222, filed in the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office onJul. 18, 2018, which is a Continuation of Non-Provisional patentapplication Ser. No. 15/824,989, filed in the U.S. Patent and TrademarkOffice on Nov. 28, 2017, which claims priority to and the benefit ofProvisional Patent Application No. 62/427,709, filed in the U.S. Patentand Trademark Office on Nov. 29, 2016, the entire contents of which areincorporated herein by reference as if fully set forth below in theirentirety and for all applicable purposes.

TECHNICAL FIELD

The technology discussed below relates generally to wirelesscommunication systems, and more particularly, to design aspects of awireless carrier that multiplexes communication signals having differentnumerologies.

INTRODUCTION

Wireless communication networks continue to evolve to meet the growingdemand for mobile broadband access. As these technologies continue toimprove, additional use cases and capabilities become possible.Contemporary efforts are working to expand the domain of these wirelesstechnologies to provide improved convenience and productivity, includingenhanced mobile broadband communications, millimeter-wave communication,and ultra-reliable low-latency communication for mission-criticalservices. For a network to provide support for this broad array of areasthere is a need for a flexible and dynamic scheme for multiplexing avariety of waveforms onto a single carrier.

BRIEF SUMMARY OF SOME EXAMPLES

The following presents a simplified summary of one or more aspects ofthe present disclosure, in order to provide a basic understanding ofsuch aspects. This summary is not an extensive overview of allcontemplated features of the disclosure, and is intended neither toidentify key or critical elements of all aspects of the disclosure norto delineate the scope of any or all aspects of the disclosure. Its solepurpose is to present some concepts of one or more aspects of thedisclosure in a simplified form as a prelude to the more detaileddescription that is presented later.

In one example, a method of wireless communication operable at a userequipment (UE) is disclosed. The method includes searching amixed-numerology carrier for a sync signal (SS), which has an SSnumerology. The mixed-numerology carrier includes waveforms of aplurality of numerologies, including the SS numerology, a firstnumerology, and a second numerology that differs from the firstnumerology. The SS numerology may be the same as the first numerology,in which case the first numerology/SS numerology may be referred to asthe primary numerology. However, the SS numerology may differ from thefirst numerology. The method further includes detecting the SS, andreading configuration information it carries: for example, a masterinformation block (MIB) on a broadcast channel. The configurationinformation corresponds to one or more channels on the carrier,including a first channel, which may be a downlink (DL) common controlchannel. The configuration information may further indicate that thefirst channel has the first numerology. The method further includesreceiving the first channel, which has the first numerology. The firstchannel is received based on the configuration information.

In another example, a method of wireless communication operable at ascheduling entity, such as a base station, is disclosed. The methodincludes transmitting a first sync signal (SS), using an SS numerology,on a mixed-numerology carrier. The first SS includes first configurationinformation, such as a master information block (MIB), which may becarried on a broadcast channel. The first configuration informationcorresponds to a first channel on the carrier, such as a downlink (DL)common control channel, and may indicate that the first channel uses thefirst numerology. The SS numerology may be the same as the firstnumerology, in which case the first numerology may be referred to as theprimary numerology. However, the SS numerology may differ from the firstnumerology. The method further includes transmitting the first channelon the carrier using a first numerology, and transmitting a secondchannel on the carrier using a second numerology.

In another example, a method of wireless communication operable at auser equipment (UE) is disclosed. The method includes searching amixed-numerology carrier for a sync signal (SS), which has an SSnumerology. The mixed numerology carrier includes waveforms of aplurality of numerologies, including the SS numerology, a firstnumerology, and a second numerology that differs from the firstnumerology. The method further includes detecting a first SS, andreading first configuration information it carries: for example, amaster information block (MIB) on a broadcast channel. The firstconfiguration information corresponds to a first channel on the carrier,which may be a downlink (DL) common control channel. The firstconfiguration information further indicates the first numerology of thefirst channel. In this example, the UE may or may not support the firstnumerology. If the UE supports the first numerology, then the methodfurther includes receiving the first channel, which has the firstnumerology. The first channel is received based on the configurationinformation. However, if the UE does not support the first numerology,then the method includes forgoing to receive the first channel.

In another example, a method of wireless communication operable at ascheduling entity, such as a base station, is disclosed. The methodincludes transmitting a first sync signal (SS), using an SS numerology,on a mixed-numerology carrier. The first SS includes first configurationinformation, such as a master information block (MIB), which may becarried on a broadcast channel. The first configuration informationcorresponds to a first channel, such as a first downlink (DL) commoncontrol channel, having a first numerology on the carrier. The firstconfiguration information may further indicate that the first channeluses the first numerology. The method further includes transmitting asecond SS using the SS numerology on the carrier. The second SS includessecond configuration information, such as a MIB, which may be carried ona broadcast channel. The second configuration information corresponds toa second channel, such as a second DL common control channel, having asecond numerology, different from the first numerology, on the carrier.The second configuration information may further indicate that thesecond channel uses the second numerology. The method further includestransmitting the first channel using the first numerology on the carrierand transmitting the second channel using the second numerology on thecarrier.

In another example, a method of wireless communication operable at ascheduling entity, such as a base station, is disclosed. The methodincludes transmitting a first sync signal (SS), using a firstnumerology, on a mixed-numerology carrier. The first SS includes firstconfiguration information, such as a master information block (MIB),which may be carried on a broadcast channel. The first configurationinformation corresponds to a first channel, such as a first downlink(DL) common control channel, having a first numerology on the carrier.The method further includes transmitting a second SS using a secondnumerology on the carrier. The second SS includes second configurationinformation, such as a MIB, which may be carried on a broadcast channel.The second configuration information corresponds to a second channelhaving the second numerology on the carrier. The method further includestransmitting the first channel on the carrier using the first numerologyand transmitting the second channel on the carrier using the secondnumerology.

These and other aspects of the invention will become more fullyunderstood upon a review of the detailed description, which follows.Other aspects, features, and embodiments of the present invention willbecome apparent to those of ordinary skill in the art, upon reviewingthe following description of specific, exemplary embodiments of thepresent invention in conjunction with the accompanying figures. Whilefeatures of the present invention may be discussed relative to certainembodiments and figures below, all embodiments of the present inventioncan include one or more of the advantageous features discussed herein.In other words, while one or more embodiments may be discussed as havingcertain advantageous features, one or more of such features may also beused in accordance with the various embodiments of the inventiondiscussed herein. In similar fashion, while exemplary embodiments may bediscussed below as device, system, or method embodiments it should beunderstood that such exemplary embodiments can be implemented in variousdevices, systems, and methods.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a schematic illustration of a wireless communication system.

FIG. 2 is a conceptual illustration of an example of a radio accessnetwork.

FIG. 3 is a schematic illustration of an organization of time-frequencyresources on a carrier utilizing orthogonal frequency divisionalmultiplexing (OFDM).

FIG. 4 is a schematic illustration of an exemplary sync signal (SS).

FIG. 5 is a schematic illustration of time-frequency resources on acarrier utilizing OFDM with a mixed numerology.

FIG. 6 is a schematic illustration of time-frequency resources on acarrier utilizing OFDM with a mixed numerology and with flexible systembandwidths.

FIG. 7 is a block diagram illustrating an example of a hardwareimplementation for a scheduling entity employing a processing system.

FIG. 8 is a block diagram illustrating an example of a hardwareimplementation for a scheduled entity employing a processing system.

FIG. 9 is a schematic illustration of time-frequency resources on acarrier utilizing OFDM with a mixed numerology and a single SS.

FIG. 10 is a flow chart illustrating an exemplary process for a UE tocarry out communication utilizing the carrier illustrated in FIG. 9.

FIG. 11 is a schematic illustration of time-frequency resources on acarrier utilizing OFDM with a mixed numerology and multiple SS's havingthe same numerology.

FIG. 12 is a flow chart illustrating an exemplary process for a UE tocarry out communication utilizing the carrier illustrated in FIG. 11.

FIG. 13 is a schematic illustration of time-frequency resources on acarrier utilizing OFDM with a mixed numerology and multiple SS's havingdifferent numerologies.

FIG. 14 is a flow chart illustrating an exemplary process for a basestation to carry out communication utilizing the carrier illustrated inFIG. 13.

FIG. 15 is a flow chart illustrating another exemplary process for abase station to carry out communication utilizing a mixed-numerologycarrier.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

The detailed description set forth below in connection with the appendeddrawings is intended as a description of various configurations and isnot intended to represent the only configurations in which the conceptsdescribed herein may be practiced. The detailed description includesspecific details for the purpose of providing a thorough understandingof various concepts. However, it will be apparent to those skilled inthe art that these concepts may be practiced without these specificdetails. In some instances, well known structures and components areshown in block diagram form in order to avoid obscuring such concepts.

Various aspects of the present disclosure provide for a sync signal (SS)enabling channel access for a mixed-numerology carrier. In one example,a single SS, having a given numerology, supports channel access for aplurality of numerologies on the mixed-numerology carrier. In anotherexample, a plurality of numerologies on the mixed-numerology carriereach has its own respective SS, and a single, common numerology is usedfor all SS's. In still another example, a plurality of numerologies onthe mixed-numerology carrier each has its own respective SS, where eachSS has the same numerology as the numerology for which the SS provideschannel access.

The various concepts presented throughout this disclosure may beimplemented across a broad variety of telecommunication systems, networkarchitectures, and communication standards. Referring now to FIG. 1, asan illustrative example without limitation, various aspects of thepresent disclosure are illustrated with reference to a wirelesscommunication system 100. The wireless communication system 100 includesthree interacting domains: a core network 102, a radio access network(RAN) 104, and a user equipment (UE) 106. By virtue of the wirelesscommunication system 100, the UE 106 may be enabled to carry out datacommunication with an external data network 110, such as (but notlimited to) the Internet.

The RAN 104 may implement any suitable wireless communication technologyor technologies to provide radio access to the UE 106. As one example,the RAN 104 may operate according to 3^(rd) Generation PartnershipProject (3GPP) New Radio (NR) specifications, often referred to as 5G.As another example, the RAN 104 may operate under a hybrid of 5G NR andEvolved Universal Terrestrial Radio Access Network (eUTRAN) standards,often referred to as LTE. The 3GPP refers to this hybrid RAN as anext-generation RAN, or NG-RAN. Of course, many other examples may beutilized within the scope of the present disclosure.

As illustrated, the RAN 104 includes a plurality of base stations 108.Broadly, a base station is a network element in a radio access networkresponsible for radio transmission and reception in one or more cells toor from a UE. In different technologies, standards, or contexts, a basestation may variously be referred to by those skilled in the art as abase transceiver station (BTS), a radio base station, a radiotransceiver, a transceiver function, a basic service set (BSS), anextended service set (ESS), an access point (AP), a Node B (NB), aneNode B (eNB), a gNode B (gNB), or some other suitable terminology.

The radio access network 104 is further illustrated supporting wirelesscommunication for multiple mobile apparatuses. A mobile apparatus may bereferred to as user equipment (UE) in 3GPP standards, but may also bereferred to by those skilled in the art as a mobile station (MS), asubscriber station, a mobile unit, a subscriber unit, a wireless unit, aremote unit, a mobile device, a wireless device, a wirelesscommunications device, a remote device, a mobile subscriber station, anaccess terminal (AT), a mobile terminal, a wireless terminal, a remoteterminal, a handset, a terminal, a user agent, a mobile client, aclient, or some other suitable terminology. A UE may be an apparatusthat provides a user with access to network services.

Within the present document, a “mobile” apparatus need not necessarilyhave a capability to move, and may be stationary. The term mobileapparatus or mobile device broadly refers to a diverse array of devicesand technologies. For example, some non-limiting examples of a mobileapparatus include a mobile, a cellular (cell) phone, a smart phone, asession initiation protocol (SIP) phone, a laptop, a personal computer(PC), a notebook, a netbook, a smartbook, a tablet, a personal digitalassistant (PDA), and a broad array of embedded systems, e.g.,corresponding to an “Internet of things” (IoT). A mobile apparatus mayadditionally be an automotive or other transportation vehicle, a remotesensor or actuator, a robot or robotics device, a satellite radio, aglobal positioning system (GPS) device, an object tracking device, adrone, a multi-copter, a quad-copter, a remote control device, aconsumer and/or wearable device, such as eyewear, a wearable camera, avirtual reality device, a smart watch, a health or fitness tracker, adigital audio player (e.g., MP3 player), a camera, a game console, etc.A mobile apparatus may additionally be a digital home or smart homedevice such as a home audio, video, and/or multimedia device, anappliance, a vending machine, intelligent lighting, a home securitysystem, a smart meter, etc. A mobile apparatus may additionally be asmart energy device, a security device, a solar panel or solar array, amunicipal infrastructure device controlling electric power (e.g., asmart grid), lighting, water, etc.; an industrial automation andenterprise device; a logistics controller; agricultural equipment;military defense equipment, vehicles, aircraft, ships, and weaponry,etc. Still further, a mobile apparatus may provide for connectedmedicine or telemedicine support, i.e., health care at a distance.Telehealth devices may include telehealth monitoring devices andtelehealth administration devices, whose communication may be givenpreferential treatment or prioritized access over other types ofinformation, e.g., in terms of prioritized access for transport ofcritical service data, and/or relevant QoS for transport of criticalservice data.

Wireless communication between a RAN 104 and a UE 106 may be describedas utilizing an air interface. Transmissions over the air interface froma base station (e.g., base station 108) to one or more UEs (e.g., UE106) may be referred to as downlink (DL) transmission. In accordancewith certain aspects of the present disclosure, the term downlink mayrefer to a point-to-multipoint transmission originating at a schedulingentity (described further below; e.g., base station 108). Another way todescribe this scheme may be to use the term broadcast channelmultiplexing. Transmissions from a UE (e.g., UE 106) to a base station(e.g., base station 108) may be referred to as uplink (UL)transmissions. In accordance with further aspects of the presentdisclosure, the term uplink may refer to a point-to-point transmissionoriginating at a scheduled entity (described further below; e.g., UE106).

In some examples, access to the air interface may be scheduled, whereina scheduling entity (e.g., a base station 108) allocates resources forcommunication among some or all devices and equipment within its servicearea or cell. Within the present disclosure, as discussed further below,the scheduling entity may be responsible for scheduling, assigning,reconfiguring, and releasing resources for one or more scheduledentities. That is, for scheduled communication, UEs 106, which may bescheduled entities, may utilize resources allocated by the schedulingentity 108.

Base stations 108 are not the only entities that may function asscheduling entities. That is, in some examples, a UE may function as ascheduling entity, scheduling resources for one or more scheduledentities (e.g., one or more other UEs).

As illustrated in FIG. 1, a scheduling entity 108 may transmit downlinktraffic 112 to one or more scheduled entities 106. Broadly, thescheduling entity 108 is a node or device responsible for schedulingtraffic in a wireless communication network, including the downlinktraffic 112 and, in some examples, uplink traffic 116 from one or morescheduled entities 106 to the scheduling entity 108. On the other hand,the scheduled entity 106 is a node or device that receives downlinkcontrol information 114, including but not limited to schedulinginformation (e.g., a grant), synchronization or timing information, orother control information from another entity in the wirelesscommunication network such as the scheduling entity 108.

In general, base stations 108 may include a backhaul interface forcommunication with a backhaul portion 120 of the wireless communicationsystem. The backhaul 120 may provide a link between a base station 108and the core network 102. Further, in some examples, a backhaul networkmay provide interconnection between the respective base stations 108.Various types of backhaul interfaces may be employed, such as a directphysical connection, a virtual network, or the like using any suitabletransport network.

The core network 102 may be a part of the wireless communication system100, and may be independent of the radio access technology used in theRAN 104. In some examples, the core network 102 may be configuredaccording to 5G standards (e.g., 5GC). In other examples, the corenetwork 102 may be configured according to a 4G evolved packet core(EPC), or any other suitable standard or configuration.

Referring now to FIG. 2, by way of example and without limitation, aschematic illustration of a RAN 200 is provided. In some examples, theRAN 200 may be the same as the RAN 104 described above and illustratedin FIG. 1. The geographic area covered by the RAN 200 may be dividedinto cellular regions (cells) that can be uniquely identified by a userequipment (UE) based on an identification transmitted from one accesspoint or base station. FIG. 2 illustrates macrocells 202, 204, and 206,and a small cell 208, each of which may include one or more sectors (notshown). A sector is a sub-area of a cell. All sectors within one cellare served by the same base station. A radio link within a sector can beidentified by a single logical identification belonging to that sector.In a cell that is divided into sectors, the multiple sectors within acell can be formed by groups of antennas with each antenna responsiblefor communication with UEs in a portion of the cell.

In FIG. 2, two base stations 210 and 212 are shown in cells 202 and 204;and a third base station 214 is shown controlling a remote radio head(RRH) 216 in cell 206. That is, a base station can have an integratedantenna or can be connected to an antenna or RRH by feeder cables. Inthe illustrated example, the cells 202, 204, and 126 may be referred toas macrocells, as the base stations 210, 212, and 214 support cellshaving a large size. Further, a base station 218 is shown in the smallcell 208 (e.g., a microcell, picocell, femtocell, home base station,home Node B, home eNode B, etc.) which may overlap with one or moremacrocells. In this example, the cell 208 may be referred to as a smallcell, as the base station 218 supports a cell having a relatively smallsize. Cell sizing can be done according to system design as well ascomponent constraints.

It is to be understood that the radio access network 200 may include anynumber of wireless base stations and cells. Further, a relay node may bedeployed to extend the size or coverage area of a given cell. The basestations 210, 212, 214, 218 provide wireless access points to a corenetwork for any number of mobile apparatuses. In some examples, the basestations 210, 212, 214, and/or 218 may be the same as the basestation/scheduling entity 108 described above and illustrated in FIG. 1.

FIG. 2 further includes a quadcopter or drone 220, which may beconfigured to function as a base station. That is, in some examples, acell may not necessarily be stationary, and the geographic area of thecell may move according to the location of a mobile base station such asthe quadcopter 220.

Within the RAN 200, the cells may include UEs that may be incommunication with one or more sectors of each cell. Further, each basestation 210, 212, 214, 218, and 220 may be configured to provide anaccess point to a core network 102 (see FIG. 1) for all the UEs in therespective cells. For example, UEs 222 and 224 may be in communicationwith base station 210; UEs 226 and 228 may be in communication with basestation 212; UEs 230 and 232 may be in communication with base station214 by way of RRH 216; UE 234 may be in communication with base station218; and UE 236 may be in communication with mobile base station 220. Insome examples, the UEs 222, 224, 226, 228, 230, 232, 234, 236, 238, 240,and/or 242 may be the same as the UE/scheduled entity 106 describedabove and illustrated in FIG. 1.

In some examples, a mobile network node (e.g., quadcopter 220) may beconfigured to function as a UE. For example, the quadcopter 220 mayoperate within cell 202 by communicating with base station 210.

In a further aspect of the RAN 200, sidelink signals may be used betweenUEs without necessarily relying on scheduling or control informationfrom a base station. For example, two or more UEs (e.g., UEs 226 and228) may communicate with each other using peer to peer (P2P) orsidelink signals 227 without relaying that communication through a basestation (e.g., base station 212). In a further example, UE 238 isillustrated communicating with UEs 240 and 242. Here, the UE 238 mayfunction as a scheduling entity or a primary sidelink device, and UEs240 and 242 may function as a scheduled entity or a non-primary (e.g.,secondary) sidelink device. In still another example, a UE may functionas a scheduling entity in a device-to-device (D2D), peer-to-peer (P2P),or vehicle-to-vehicle (V2V) network, and/or in a mesh network. In a meshnetwork example, UEs 240 and 242 may optionally communicate directlywith one another in addition to communicating with the scheduling entity238. Thus, in a wireless communication system with scheduled access totime-frequency resources and having a cellular configuration, a P2Pconfiguration, or a mesh configuration, a scheduling entity and one ormore scheduled entities may communicate utilizing the scheduledresources.

The air interface in the radio access network 200 may utilize one ormore duplexing algorithms. Duplex refers to a point-to-pointcommunication link where both endpoints can communicate with one anotherin both directions. Full duplex means both endpoints can simultaneouslycommunicate with one another. Half duplex means only one endpoint cansend information to the other at a time. In a wireless link, a fullduplex channel generally relies on physical isolation of a transmitterand receiver, and suitable interference cancellation technologies. Fullduplex emulation is frequently implemented for wireless links byutilizing frequency division duplex (FDD) or time division duplex (TDD).In FDD, transmissions in different directions operate at differentcarrier frequencies. In TDD, transmissions in different directions on agiven channel are separated from one another using time divisionmultiplexing. That is, at some times the channel is dedicated fortransmissions in one direction, while at other times the channel isdedicated for transmissions in the other direction, where the directionmay change very rapidly, e.g., several times per slot.

The air interface in the radio access network 200 may utilize one ormore multiplexing and multiple access algorithms to enable simultaneouscommunication of the various devices. For example, 5G NR specificationsprovide multiple access for UL transmissions from UEs 222 and 224 tobase station 210, and for multiplexing for DL transmissions from basestation 210 to one or more UEs 222 and 224, utilizing orthogonalfrequency division multiplexing (OFDM) with a cyclic prefix (CP). Inaddition, for UL transmissions, 5G NR specifications provide support fordiscrete Fourier transform-spread-OFDM (DFT-s-OFDM) with a CP (alsoreferred to as single-carrier I-DMA (SC-FDMA)). However, within thescope of the present disclosure, multiplexing and multiple access arenot limited to the above schemes, and may be provided utilizing timedivision multiple access (TDMA), code division multiple access (CDMA),frequency division multiple access (FDMA), sparse code multiple access(SCMA), resource spread multiple access (RSMA), or other suitablemultiple access schemes. Further, multiplexing downlink (DL) or forwardlink transmissions from the base station 110 to UEs 122 and 124 may beprovided utilizing time division multiplexing (TDM), code divisionmultiplexing (CDM), frequency division multiplexing (FDM), orthogonalfrequency division multiplexing (OFDM), sparse code multiplexing (SCM),or other suitable multiplexing schemes.

By way of illustration, various aspects of the present disclosure willbe described with reference to an OFDM waveform, schematicallyillustrated in FIG. 3. It should be understood by those of ordinaryskill in the art that the various aspects of the present disclosure maybe applied to a DFT-s-OFDMA waveform in substantially the same way asdescribed herein below. That is, while some examples of the presentdisclosure may focus on an OFDM link for clarity, it should beunderstood that the same principles may be applied as well toDFT-s-OFDMA waveforms.

Referring now to FIG. 3, an expanded view of an exemplary DL subframe302 is illustrated, showing an OFDM resource grid 304. However, as thoseskilled in the art will readily appreciate, the PHY transmissionstructure for any particular application may vary from the exampledescribed here, depending on any number of factors. Here, time is in thehorizontal direction with units of OFDM symbols; and frequency is in thevertical direction with units of subcarriers.

The resource grid 304 may be used to schematically representtime-frequency resources for a given antenna port. That is, in a MIMOimplementation with multiple antenna ports available, a correspondingmultiple number of resource grids 304 may be available forcommunication. The resource grid 304 is divided into multiple resourceelements (REs) 306. An RE, which is 1 subcarrier×1 symbol, is thesmallest discrete part of the time-frequency grid, and contains a singlecomplex value representing data from a physical channel or signal.Depending on the modulation utilized in a particular implementation,each RE may represent one or more bits of information. In some examples,a block of REs may be referred to as a physical resource block (PRB) ormore simply a resource block (RB) 308, which contains any suitablenumber of consecutive subcarriers in the frequency domain. In oneexample, an RB may include 12 subcarriers, a number independent of thenumerology used. In some examples, depending on the numerology, an RBmay include any suitable number of consecutive OFDM symbols in the timedomain. Within the present disclosure, it is assumed that a single RBsuch as the RB 308 entirely corresponds to a single direction ofcommunication (either transmission or reception for a given device).

A UE generally utilizes only a subset of the resource grid 304. An RBmay be the smallest unit of resources that can be allocated to a UE.Thus, the more RBs scheduled for a UE, and the higher the modulationscheme chosen for the air interface, the higher the data rate for theUE.

In this illustration, the RB 308 is shown as occupying less than theentire bandwidth of the subframe 302, with some subcarriers illustratedabove and below the RB 308. In a given implementation, the subframe 302may have a bandwidth corresponding to any number of one or more RBs 308.Further, in this illustration, the RB 308 is shown as occupying lessthan the entire duration of the subframe 302, although this is merelyone possible example.

Each 1 ms subframe 302 may consist of one or multiple adjacent slots. Inthe example shown in FIG. 3, one subframe 302 includes four slots 310,as an illustrative example. In some examples, a slot may be definedaccording to a specified number of OFDM symbols with a given cyclicprefix (CP) length. For example, a slot may include 7 or 14 OFDM symbolswith a nominal CP. Additional examples may include mini-slots having ashorter duration (e.g., one or two OFDM symbols). These mini-slots mayin some cases be transmitted occupying resources scheduled for ongoingslot transmissions for the same or for different UEs.

An expanded view of one of the slots 310 illustrates the slot 310including a control region 312 and a data region 314. In general, thecontrol region 312 may carry control channels (e.g., PDCCH), and thedata region 314 may carry data channels (e.g., PDSCH or PUSCH). Invarious examples, a slot 310 may contain all DL, all UL, or at least oneDL portion and at least one UL portion. The simple structure illustratedin FIG. 3 is merely exemplary in nature, and different slot structuresmay be utilized, and may include one or more of each of the controlregion(s) and data region(s).

Although the illustration of the slot 310 in FIG. 3 shows both thecontrol and data regions 312 and 314, respectively, appearing to occupythe entire bandwidth of the slot 310, this is not necessarily the case.For example, a DL control region 312 may occupy only a portion of thesystem bandwidth. In some aspects of the present disclosure, the DLcontrol region 312 may be a downlink common burst or a common controlregion. In this example, a common control region may be common, in thatits bandwidth and location within the system bandwidth for that slot maybe predetermined, or known to various devices in the RAN 104.

Although not illustrated in FIG. 3, the various REs 306 within a RB 308may be scheduled to carry one or more physical channels, includingcontrol channels, shared channels, data channels, etc. Other REs 306within the RB 308 may also carry pilots or reference signals, includingbut not limited to a demodulation reference signal (DMRS) a controlreference signal (CRS), or a sounding reference signal (SRS). Thesepilots or reference signals may provide for a receiving device toperform channel estimation of the corresponding channel, which mayenable coherent demodulation/detection of the control and/or datachannels within the RB 308.

According to various aspects of the disclosure, a scheduling entity maytransmit one or more synchronization (sync) signals or sync channelsover its respective cell. A sync signal (SS) may be a narrowband signal.For example, out of a carrier bandwidth of 100 MHz, an SS may have abandwidth of 5 MHz. However, this is merely an illustrative example andany suitable SS bandwidth may be utilized.

FIG. 4 is a schematic illustration of a design for an SS transmission asit may be implemented according to some aspects of the presentdisclosure. In FIG. 4, two SS bursts 402 are illustrated, although an SSburst set may include any suitable number of SS bursts 402. In someexamples, an SS burst set may include periodic transmissions of the SSbursts 402, e.g., every X milliseconds (X msec), every half-frame, etc.,although any periodicity of SS bursts may be utilized. In otherexamples, aperiodic SS burst 402 transmissions may be utilized. Each SSburst 402 may include N SS blocks 404, extending for a duration of Ymicroseconds (Y μsec). As a further illustrative example, each SS block404 may include a primary synchronization signal (PSS), a secondarysynchronization signal (SSS), and a physical broadcast channel (PBCH) inconsecutive OFDM symbols. Other examples may utilize greater or fewerthan two synchronization signals; may include one or more supplementalchannels in addition to the PBCH; may omit a PBCH; and/or may utilizenonconsecutive symbols for an SS block, within the scope of the presentdisclosure.

To gain access to the information on the carrier, a UE 106 may utilize araster, or a list of hypotheses, to scan or search for an SS. That is,the UE 106 may tune its receiver to attempt to receive a sync signal ata given frequency in the air interface, re-tuning to the next candidatefrequency until an SS is identified. As one non-limiting example, a UE106 may have a raster with approximately 5 or 6 possible locations ofthe sync signal to search within a 100 MHz bandwidth.

Utilization of the SS to gain access to the information on the carriermay take a variety of different forms. Some examples, described infurther detail below, include the utilization of a single SS for aplurality of numerologies, or the utilization of multiple SS's, i.e.,one SS for each of a plurality of numerologies. When utilizing multipleSS's, the respective SS's may share the same numerology as one another,or in other examples, an SS may have the same numerology as acorresponding numerology for communication of control and trafficinformation. These and other examples are described in further detailbelow.

Referring once again to FIG. 3, according to aspects of a DLtransmission, the transmitting device (e.g., scheduling entity 108) mayallocate one or more REs 306 (e.g., within a control region 312) tocarry DL control information 114 including one or more DL controlchannels, such as a physical control format indicator channel (PCFICH);a physical hybrid automatic repeat request (HARQ) indicator channel(PHICH); and/or a physical downlink control channel (PDCCH), etc., toone or more scheduled entities 106.

The PCFICH provides information to assist a receiving device inreceiving and decoding the PDCCH. The PDCCH carries downlink controlinformation (DCI) including but not limited to power control commands,scheduling information, a grant, and/or an assignment of REs for DL andUL transmissions. The PHICH carries HARQ feedback transmissions such asan acknowledgment (ACK) or negative acknowledgment (NACK). HARQ is atechnique well-known to those of ordinary skill in the art, wherein theintegrity of packet transmissions may be checked at the receiving sidefor accuracy, e.g., utilizing any suitable integrity checking mechanism,such as a checksum or a cyclic redundancy check (CRC). If the integrityof the transmission confirmed, an ACK may be transmitted, whereas if notconfirmed, a NACK may be transmitted. In response to a NACK, thetransmitting device may send a HARQ retransmission, which may implementchase combining, incremental redundancy, etc.

In an UL transmission, the transmitting device (e.g., the scheduledentity 106) may utilize one or more REs 306 to carry UL controlinformation 118 including one or more UL control channels, such as aphysical uplink control channel (PUCCH), to the scheduling entity 108.UL control information may include a variety of packet types andcategories, including pilots, reference signals, and informationconfigured to enable or assist in decoding uplink data transmissions. Insome examples, the UL control information 118 may include a schedulingrequest (SR), i.e., request for the scheduling entity 108 to scheduleuplink transmissions. Here, in response to the SR transmitted on the ULcontrol channel 118, the scheduling entity 108 may transmit DL controlinformation 114 that may schedule resources for UL packet transmissions.UL control information 118 may also include HARQ feedback, channel statefeedback (CSF), or any other suitable UL control information.

In addition to control information, one or more REs 306 (e.g., withinthe data region 314) may be allocated for user data or traffic data.Such traffic may be carried on one or more traffic channels, such as,for a DL transmission, a physical downlink shared channel (PDSCH); orfor an UL transmission, a physical uplink shared channel (PUSCH). Insome examples, one or more REs 406 within the data region 314 may beconfigured to carry system information blocks (SIBs), carryinginformation that may enable access to a given carrier.

The channels or carriers described above and illustrated in FIGS. 1, 3,and 4 are not necessarily all the channels or carriers that may beutilized between a scheduling entity 108 and scheduled entities 106, andthose of ordinary skill in the art will recognize that other channels orcarriers may be utilized in addition to those illustrated, such as othertraffic, control, and feedback channels.

In an OFDM carrier, to maintain orthogonality of the subcarriers ortones, the subcarrier spacing may be equal to the inverse of the symbolperiod. A numerology of an OFDM waveform refers to its particularsubcarrier spacing and cyclic prefix (CP) overhead. A scalablenumerology refers to the capability of the network to select differentsubcarrier spacings, and accordingly, with each spacing, to select thecorresponding symbol duration, including the CP length. With a scalablenumerology, a nominal subcarrier spacing (SCS) may be scaled upward ordownward by integer multiples. In this manner, regardless of CP overheadand the selected SCS, symbol boundaries may be aligned at certain commonmultiples of symbols (e.g., aligned at the boundaries of each 1 mssubframe). The range of SCS may include any suitable SCS. For example, ascalable numerology may support a SCS ranging from 15 kHz to 480 kHz.

FIG. 5 is a schematic illustration of a mixed-numerology carrier 500,multiplexing OFDM waveforms of two different numerologies utilizing FDM.In this example, a first subband 502 may have a first subcarrier spacing(SCS) of 2f, and a symbol duration of t. Further, a second subband 504may have an SCS of half that of the first subband 502, or 2f/2=f. In onenon-limiting example, the subcarrier spacing f of the first numerologymay be 30 kHz, and the subcarrier spacing 2f of the second numerologymay be 60 kHz. As discussed above, because the SCS is reduced in thesecond subband 504, the symbol duration in that subband 504 iscorrespondingly increased. Thus, in the second subband 504, thenumerology includes a symbol duration of twice that of the first subband502, or 2t.

In various examples, different UEs 106 may utilize different CPs, suchas a normal CP (NCP) and an extended CP (ECP), generally under thecontrol of the scheduling entity 108. Because the CP is part of the OFDMsymbol, within the present disclosure, any reference to a differentnumerology may refer to communication with different tone spacings andcorresponding different symbol lengths, encompassing potentiallydifferent CPs within the different symbol lengths.

As illustrated in FIG. 5, even within the same slot, and on the samecarrier, different UEs 106 may be assigned REs having differentnumerologies when the different numerologies are FDM with one another.Thus, transmission on the DL from the scheduling entity 108 may be a mixor multiplexing of these different waveforms, constituting themixed-numerology carrier 500.

By supporting multiple numerologies, a RAN 104 can support multiplemixed-use cases, e.g., for different types of UEs, UEs with differentrequirements, UEs running different services, etc. As one example, a UE106 utilizing a service that requires very low latency may betterachieve that goal with a shorter slot length. Accordingly, that UE maybe allocated resources in a numerology that has shorter symboldurations. In another example, a mixed-numerology carrier may providefor traffic offloading from a given set of resources. That is, asdescribed further below, when resources corresponding to a firstnumerology become highly or fully occupied, then a scheduling entity 108may be enabled to redirect one or more scheduled entities 106 to utilizeresources of a second numerology. In another example, a schedulingentity 108 may redirect scheduled entities 106 for load balancing, e.g.,to better balance traffic in different portions of the mixed-numerologycarrier. Thus, a scheduling entity 108 may be enabled to redirect asubset of UEs camped on that cell onto a second numerology, whilemaintaining communication with another subset of one or more UEs usingthe first numerology.

When a carrier supports multiple numerologies, each numerology mayprovide a control channel, corresponding to data and traffic channelsthat utilize that numerology. However, this need not always be the case.In some examples, where a UE 106 is capable of utilizing resources withdifferent numerologies, a common control channel may be utilized foreach of a plurality of numerologies.

Further aspects of the disclosure will now be described in relation to amixed-numerology carrier 600 illustrated schematically in FIG. 6. Thisillustration provides a block or group of time-frequency resources in anOFDM waveform having two different numerologies multiplexed onto themixed-numerology carrier 600. In this example, for illustrative purposesall the slots shown on the carrier 600 are DL slots, including DLcontrol and DL data regions. However, it is to be understood that otherexamples may include both DL and UL regions in a TDD carrier, withoutdeviating from the scope of the present disclosure.

As illustrated, each numerology includes a set of slots, and each slotincludes a common DL control region and a data region, as describedabove in relation to the slot 310 illustrated in FIG. 3. Of course, anyother suitable slot structure may be utilized in a given example, andthe structure of a slot in a given implementation may differ from theexamples in FIG. 6.

Although two numerologies are multiplexed onto the carrier 600 in theillustrated example, those of ordinary skill in the art will recognizethat in other examples, any suitable number of numerologies may bemultiplexed onto a given mixed-numerology carrier. In the illustratedexample, the subcarrier spacings of the different numerologies differfrom one another. For example, in a first numerology 602, the subcarrierspacing may be 60 kHz, while in a second numerology 604, the subcarrierspacing may be 30 kHz. Because there may be 14 symbols per slot, a slotin the second numerology 604 is double the length of a slot in the firstnumerology 602. Thus, this figure shows four slots for the firstnumerology 602, and two slots for the second numerology 604.

Each numerology 602 and 604 on the carrier 600 includes a plurality ofslots. Among these slots, the first numerology 602 includes a first slot608, and the second numerology 604 includes a second slot 612. Further,within each numerology 602 and 604, each slot includes a common DLcontrol region and a data region. For example, the first slot 608 of thefirst numerology 602 includes a common DL control region 606, and thesecond slot 612 of the second numerology 604 includes a common DLcontrol region 610. In the described examples, the common DL controlregions 606 and 610 within slots 608 and 612 may include controlinformation, e.g., carried on a PDCCH. This control information mayinclude a scheduling grant for resources on a shared traffic channel forthat slot, such as a PDSCH. In the illustrated example, each slot'scontrol region (e.g., control regions 606, 610, etc.) has the same,fixed bandwidth. In this way, a scheduling entity may provide a certainset of control information at a consistent, predictable location withinthe carrier 600. Further, a scheduling entity can provide forcompatibility with a broad range of UE types by suitably locating, andlimiting the bandwidth of the control regions 606, 610, etc. That is,even UEs that lack the radio capabilities to receive wide-bandwidthsignal signals can receive a relatively narrowband common controlchannel. Similarly, even UEs that are only capable of receivingtransmissions within a small portion of the full frequency range of thecarrier 600 can receive a suitably located common control channel.

Each slot may further include a data region, which may carry DL data orDL traffic for a plurality of UEs. That is, traffic channels in the dataregion of a given slot may be shared by a plurality of UEs. For example,the DL data regions may include the PDSCH, scheduled according to thecontrol information, e.g., carried on the PDCCH in that respective slot.

As illustrated in FIG. 6, the data region of any given slot may have adifferent bandwidth than the control region of that same slot. Moreover,the bandwidth of the data regions in different slots may differ, and mayvary from one slot to another. In some examples, the DL controlinformation carried in the common control region (e.g., 606 and 610) ofa given slot may direct high-capability UEs to receive very widebanddownlink traffic, and/or traffic in resource elements outside thefrequency range occupied by the common control region. The DL controlinformation may additionally direct low-capability UEs to receive DLtraffic within a portion of the data region that occupies frequencieswithin the same range as the common control region.

With this degree of flexibility in the bandwidth of the respectiveslots' data regions, in a mixed-numerology carrier 600, differentnumerologies may dynamically share resources, with their share varyingover time. As illustrated in FIG. 6, when the bandwidth of data regionsin the first numerology 602 is wider, the bandwidth of data regions inthe second numerology 604 is narrower; and when the bandwidth of dataregions in the first numerology 602 is narrower, the bandwidth of dataregions in the second numerology 604 is wider. In some examples,including the example illustrated in FIG. 6, the data portion of a slotof one numerology may be configured not to overlap any portion of a slotof a different numerology. For example, a wide bandwidth PDSCH of thefirst numerology 602 may only be as wide as possible where it does notoverlap with the control region or the data region of a slot of thesecond numerology. However, this is not intended to be a limitingexample, and in other examples, transmissions of one numerology mayoverlap transmissions of another numerology.

In the illustrated example, some regions of the mixed-numerology 600 areunused. That is, the resources between the control region 606 of thefirst slot 608 of the first numerology 602, and the control region 610of the first slot 612 of the second numerology 604 are unused. However,in some examples according to an aspect of the present disclosure, theseresources may be filled with any suitable transmissions.

In the illustrated mixed-numerology carrier 600, within each slot, thecontrol region shares the same numerology as its corresponding dataregion. However, this need not necessarily be the case, and in someexamples, a control region of a given slot may have a differentnumerology than a traffic region of that same slot.

FIG. 7 is a block diagram illustrating an example of a hardwareimplementation for a scheduling entity 700 employing a processing system714. For example, the scheduling entity 700 may be a user equipment (UE)as illustrated in any one or more of FIGS. 1 and/or 2. In anotherexample, the scheduling entity 700 may be a base station as illustratedin any one or more of FIGS. 1 and/or 2.

The scheduling entity 700 may be implemented with a processing system714 that includes one or more processors 704. Examples of processors 704include microprocessors, microcontrollers, digital signal processors(DSPs), field programmable gate arrays (FPGAs), programmable logicdevices (PLDs), state machines, gated logic, discrete hardware circuits,and other suitable hardware configured to perform the variousfunctionality described throughout this disclosure. In various examples,the scheduling entity 700 may be configured to perform any one or moreof the functions described herein. That is, the processor 704, asutilized in a scheduling entity 700, may be used to implement any one ormore of the processes and procedures described below and illustrated inFIGS. 9, 11, 13, and/or 14.

In this example, the processing system 714 may be implemented with a busarchitecture, represented generally by the bus 702. The bus 702 mayinclude any number of interconnecting buses and bridges depending on thespecific application of the processing system 714 and the overall designconstraints. The bus 702 communicatively couples together variouscircuits including one or more processors (represented generally by theprocessor 704), a memory 705, and computer-readable media (representedgenerally by the computer-readable medium 706). The bus 702 may alsolink various other circuits such as timing sources, peripherals, voltageregulators, and power management circuits, which are well known in theart, and therefore, will not be described any further. A bus interface708 provides an interface between the bus 702 and a transceiver 710. Thetransceiver 710 provides a communication interface or means forcommunicating with various other apparatus over a transmission medium.Depending upon the nature of the apparatus, a user interface 712 (e.g.,keypad, display, speaker, microphone, joystick) may also be provided. Ofcourse, such a user interface 712 is optional, and may be omitted insome examples, such as a base station.

In some aspects of the disclosure, the processor 704 may include ascheduler 742 configured for various functions, including, for example,scheduling time-frequency resources for one or more scheduled entities.In further aspects, the processor 704 may include communicationcircuitry 744 configured for various functions, including, for example,controlling wireless communication utilizing the transceiver 710,receiving data and control channels via receiver 710 rx, andtransmitting data channels, control channels, sync signals (SS's), SIBs,MIBs, etc., via transmitter 710 tx. In still further aspects, theprocessor 704 may include a numerology selector 746 configured forvarious functions, including, for example, configuring the transceiver710 to provide support for a given numerology, as needed.

The processor 704 is responsible for managing the bus 702 and generalprocessing, including the execution of software stored on thecomputer-readable medium 706. The software, when executed by theprocessor 704, causes the processing system 714 to perform the variousfunctions described below for any particular apparatus. Thecomputer-readable medium 706 and the memory 705 may also be used forstoring data that is manipulated by the processor 704 when executingsoftware.

One or more processors 704 in the processing system may executesoftware. Software shall be construed broadly to mean instructions,instruction sets, code, code segments, program code, programs,subprograms, software modules, applications, software applications,software packages, routines, subroutines, objects, executables, threadsof execution, procedures, functions, etc., whether referred to assoftware, firmware, middleware, microcode, hardware descriptionlanguage, or otherwise. The software may reside on a computer-readablemedium 706. The computer-readable medium 706 may be a non-transitorycomputer-readable medium. A non-transitory computer-readable mediumincludes, by way of example, a magnetic storage device (e.g., hard disk,floppy disk, magnetic strip), an optical disk (e.g., a compact disc (CD)or a digital versatile disc (DVD)), a smart card, a flash memory device(e.g., a card, a stick, or a key drive), a random access memory (RAM), aread only memory (ROM), a programmable ROM (PROM), an erasable PROM(EPROM), an electrically erasable PROM (EEPROM), a register, a removabledisk, and any other suitable medium for storing software and/orinstructions that may be accessed and read by a computer. Thecomputer-readable medium 706 may reside in the processing system 714,external to the processing system 714, or distributed across multipleentities including the processing system 714. The computer-readablemedium 706 may be embodied in a computer program product. By way ofexample, a computer program product may include a computer-readablemedium in packaging materials. Those skilled in the art will recognizehow best to implement the described functionality presented throughoutthis disclosure depending on the particular application and the overalldesign constraints imposed on the overall system.

In one or more examples, the computer-readable storage medium 706 mayinclude scheduling software 762 configured for various functions,including, for example, scheduling time-frequency resources for one ormore scheduled entities. In further aspects, the computer-readablestorage medium 706 may include communication software 764 configured forvarious functions, including, for example, controlling wirelesscommunication utilizing the transceiver 710, receiving data and controlchannels via receiver 710 rx, and transmitting data channels, controlchannels, sync signals (SS's), SIBs, MIBs, etc., via transmitter 710 tx.In still further aspects, the computer-readable storage medium 706 mayinclude numerology selection software 746 configured for variousfunctions, including, for example, configuring the transceiver 710 toprovide support for a given numerology, as needed.

Of course, in the above examples, the circuitry included in theprocessor 704 is merely provided as an example, and other means forcarrying out the described functions may be included within variousaspects of the present disclosure, including but not limited to theinstructions stored in the computer-readable storage medium 706, or anyother suitable apparatus or means described in any one of the FIGS. 1and/or 2, and utilizing, for example, the processes and/or algorithmsdescribed herein in relation to FIGS. 9, 11, 13, and/or 14.

FIG. 8 is a conceptual diagram illustrating an example of a hardwareimplementation for an exemplary scheduled entity 800 employing aprocessing system 814. In accordance with various aspects of thedisclosure, an element, or any portion of an element, or any combinationof elements may be implemented with a processing system 814 thatincludes one or more processors 804. For example, the scheduled entity800 may be a user equipment (UE) as illustrated in any one or more ofFIGS. 1 and/or 2.

The processing system 814 may be substantially the same as theprocessing system 714 illustrated in FIG. 7, including a bus interface808, a bus 802, memory 805, a processor 804, and a computer-readablemedium 806. Furthermore, the scheduled entity 800 may include a userinterface 812 and a transceiver 810 substantially similar to thosedescribed above in FIG. 7. That is, the processor 804, as utilized in ascheduled entity 800, may be used to implement any one or more of theprocesses described below and illustrated in FIGS. 9-13.

In some aspects of the disclosure, the processor 804 may include SSraster search circuitry 842 configured for various functions, including,for example, searching a carrier for an SS, detecting the SS incoordination with the receiver 810 rx, the SS raster list 852, and thenumerology selector 846; and/or redirecting from one channel to another,e.g., by suitably configuring the transceiver 810. In a further aspect,the processor 804 may include communication circuitry 844 configured forvarious functions, including, for example, controlling wirelesscommunication utilizing the transceiver 810; receiving data and controlchannels via receiver 810 rx, and transmitting data and control channelsvia transmitter 810 tx. In a further aspect, the processor 804 mayinclude a numerology selector 846 configured for various functions,including, for example, configuring and/or redirecting the transceiver810 to provide support for a given numerology as needed.

Of course, in the above examples, the circuitry included in theprocessor 804 is merely provided as an example, and other means forcarrying out the described functions may be included within variousaspects of the present disclosure, including but not limited to theinstructions stored in the computer-readable storage medium 806, or anyother suitable apparatus or means described in any one of the FIGS. 1and/or 2, and utilizing, for example, the processes and/or algorithmsdescribed herein in relation to FIGS. 9-13.

Referring now to FIG. 9, a mixed-numerology carrier 900 is schematicallyillustrated. As mentioned above, some aspects of the present disclosureprovide for a mixed-numerology carrier that utilizes a single, commonsync signal (SS) within the bandwidth of the carrier, for each of aplurality of numerologies. In this illustration, a single SS 906 isprovided, to enable UE to access the carrier 900 on each of a pluralityof numerologies 902 and 904.

In some examples of a mixed-numerology carrier, an SS need notnecessarily have the same numerology as any control channel, datachannel, or any other channel on the carrier. That is, within the scopeof the present disclosure, any suitable combination of numerologiesbetween SS's, control channels, and data channels may be utilized.However, in the description that follows, with reference to themixed-numerology carrier 900 illustrated in FIG. 9, the carrier includestwo numerologies, referred to as a primary numerology 902 and a second(2^(nd)) or secondary numerology 904. Further, the carrier 900 includesa single, common SS 906 within the bandwidth of the carrier 900, andhaving the primary numerology 902. That is, the primary numerology 902may be referred to as primary because it is the numerology that carriesthe SS 906. In this example, the second numerology 904 may omit a syncchannel.

Further, in FIG. 9, for ease of illustration, the SS 906 is shown in thesame frequency range as other DL transmissions utilizing the primarynumerology 902. However, this need not be the case. Other exampleswithin the scope of the present disclosure may locate the SS 906,utilizing the primary numerology 902, within a frequency range outsidethe frequency range utilized by other transmissions that utilize theprimary numerology 902.

The operation of a UE or scheduled entity 800 acquiring themixed-numerology carrier 900 will now be described with reference toFIGS. 9 and 10. FIG. 10 is a flow chart illustrating an exemplaryprocess 1000 for a UE 800 to acquire a mixed-numerology carrier 900 inaccordance with some aspects of the present disclosure. As describedbelow, some or all illustrated features may be omitted in a particularimplementation within the scope of the present disclosure, and someillustrated features may not be required for implementation of allembodiments. In some examples, the process 1000 may be carried out bythe scheduled entity 800 illustrated in FIG. 8. However, the process1000 is not limited thereto. In other examples, the process 1000 may becarried out by any suitable apparatus or means for carrying out thefunctions or algorithm described below.

At block 1002, a UE 800 may search the mixed-numerology carrier 900 fora SS, having an SS numerology (e.g., the primary numerology 902). Thatis, to gain access to the information on the mixed-numerology carrier900, a UE 800 may utilize an SS raster 842, in coordination with astored SS raster list 852 (e.g., a list of hypotheses or candidatefrequency locations) to scan or search for an SS in the carrier 900. TheUE 800 may tune its receiver 810 rx to attempt to receive a sync signalat a candidate frequency location in the air interface, re-tuning to thenext candidate frequency until an SS is identified. As one non-limitingexample, the SS raster list 852 may include approximately 5 or 6candidate frequency locations to search for the SS within a 100 MHzbandwidth.

According to an aspect of the disclosure, for the SS search, the UE 800may configure its receiver 810 rx to scan for an SS at the primarynumerology, independent of any other numerologies that the UE 800 may beconfigured to use. That is, by virtue of the carrier 900 including asingle, common numerology for the SS 906, all UEs that seek to accessthe carrier 900 may search for an SS utilizing that common numerology.

At block 1004, during the search, the UE 800 may detect an SS 906 on thecarrier 900. Once the SS 906 is detected, the UE 800 may read certaincontrol information carried on the SS 906, including configurationinformation or parameters for a common control channel 908 using theprimary numerology 902. That is, as described previously the SS 906 maycarry a physical broadcast channel (PBCH). The PBCH may includebroadcast control information such as a master information block (MIB)that provides various configuration information or parameters for one ormore channels on the carrier, such as a common control channel (e.g.,PDCCH) 908. In other words, the MIB in the SS 906 may map to a primarycommon control channel 908. In some aspects of the disclosure, theconfiguration information or parameters (e.g., the MIB) may includeinformation sufficient for the UE 800 to access the carrier.

The configuration information or parameters carried on the MIB mayinclude the location within the carrier 900, the bandwidth, and/or otherinformation characterizing the primary common control channel 908. Insome examples, the MIB may be limited to critical information requiredfor a UE 800 to access the primary common control channel 908; in otherexamples, the MIB may include additional information for the UE 800.Further, in some examples, where the SS may not necessarily share anumerology with a control channel, the MIB may indicate the numerologyof the primary common control channel on the carrier.

For each numerology 902, 904 on the mixed-numerology carrier 900, eachslot may include a common control channel or common control region.Here, the common control channel corresponding to the numerology thatincludes the SS 906 may be referred to as the primary common controlchannel 908. Once the UE 800 reads the MIB from the SS 906 and isinformed of the characteristics of the primary common control channel908 (e.g., its location, bandwidth, numerology, etc.), the UE 800 maymonitor for the primary common control channel 908.

Accordingly, at block 1006, the UE 800 may read the primary commoncontrol channel 908 to obtain information or parameters corresponding toa data channel 910. That is, in addition to user data or traffic thatmay be carried on a PDSCH, the data channel 910 may also carry systeminformation block (SIB) information about the carrier 900. Thus, forexample, the primary common control channel 908 may inform the UE 800 ofresources on the carrier 900, within the data channel 910, which carrythe SIBs. Accordingly, at block 1008, the UE 800 may read systeminformation, or minimum SIB (MSIB) information, carried on the datachannel, 910 to retrieve information sufficient for the UE 800 to accessthe carrier (e.g., the full system information for one or morenumerologies on the mixed numerology carrier 900).

At block 1010, according to some examples, the UE 800 may gain access todata resources on the carrier 900 by utilizing a random access channel(RACH). A RACH procedure is well-known to those of ordinary skill in theart, and is not described in detail herein. Very simply, when the UE 800has a need for communication resources, the UE 800 may make a RACHtransmission utilizing resources within the carrier 900, which aredefined in the MSIB. Because the illustration in FIG. 9 only shows DLsignals, an UL RACH transmission as part of a random access procedure isnot shown, but implied with the notation [RACH] 912. After making theRACH transmission 912, at block 1012, the UE 800 may monitor for a RACHresponse on the carrier 900. In some examples, as illustrated in FIG. 9,a RACH response may be located within a common control channel 914 in aslot subsequent to the RACH transmission 912.

The MSIB-RACH procedure is not intended to be limiting in nature. Thatis, in some examples, the MIB carried on the sync channel 906 (e.g.,within the PBCH) may include sufficient information to enable the UE 800to engage in a random access procedure. In such an example, the UE 800may make a RACH transmission immediately after, or soon after readingthe SS 906, e.g., prior to the MSIB 910.

In some examples, where a UE 800 would communicate utilizing the primarynumerology 902, the common control channel 914 might include controlinformation (e.g., a PDCCH) scheduling resources for that UE utilizingthe primary numerology 902. However, according to a further aspect ofthe disclosure, the control information carried in the common controlchannel 914 may include a redirection indication, configured to redirectthe UE 900 to the second numerology 904. For example, at block 1014, theUE 800 may determine whether the control information in the commoncontrol channel 914 includes a redirection indication, includinginformation about a control channel having the second numerology 904.That is, the redirection indication may be configured to redirect the UE800 to the second numerology 904. Such a redirection indication may beprovided to the UE 800 utilizing any suitable control signaling,including but not limited to radio resource control (RRC) signalingcarried on the DL common control channel 914. In another example (notillustrated), a redirection indication may be provided to the UE 800 onthe PDSCH. In this example, the location of the redirection indicationwithin the data region of a slot may be provided to the UE 800 inscheduling information, or a grant, in the DL common control channel914. A redirection request, or redirection indication, may includeinformation about a second common control channel 916, such as itslocation on the carrier 900, its numerology, and/or any other suitableinformation.

If the UE 800 is not redirected, then at block 1016, the UE 800 maycommunicate over the mixed-numerology carrier 900, remaining on theprimary numerology 902. That is, the UE 800 may maintain a configurationof its transceiver 810 to communicate over the mixed-numerology carrier900 utilizing the primary numerology. However, if the UE 800 receives aredirection indication, then at block 1018, the UE 800 may redirect to asecondary common control channel 916, having the second numerology 904.

In some examples, the secondary common control channel 916 may use adifferent numerology (e.g., the second numerology 904) than that of theprimary common control channel 914 (the primary numerology 902). In anexample where the secondary common control channel 916 is a differentnumerology than that of the primary common control channel 914, the UE800 may be informed of the numerology of the secondary common controlchannel 916 via control information in the primary control channel 914,via the MSIB carried in a data channel 910, or via any other suitablechannel or signal. When the UE 800 is redirected to the secondary commoncontrol channel 916 having a different numerology, the UE 800 may alter,or change a configuration of its receiver 810 rx and/or its transmitter810 tx to monitor for control information on the secondary commoncontrol channel 916.

In other examples, the secondary common control channel 916 may use thesame numerology as that of the primary common control channel 914.

Once the UE 800 redirects to the secondary common control channel 916,at block 1020, the UE 800 may receive the secondary common controlchannel 916. The secondary common control channel 916, and/or asecondary data channel 918, may carry system information (e.g., SIBs)corresponding to one or more channels having the second numerology 904.That is, the secondary common control channel 916 may includeinformation to direct the UE 800 to locate a secondary MSIBcorresponding to the second numerology 904 within a data region 918,similar to the procedure described above for the primary numerology 902,at block 1008. However, in another example, the secondary common controlchannel 916 need not necessarily direct the UE 800 to a secondary MSIB.That is, the system information carried in the data channel 910 in theprimary numerology 902 may provide system information characterizing thesecond numerology 904, e.g., the secondary common control channel 916.In either case, the UE 800 may read SIBs corresponding to an MSIB toobtain the system information corresponding to the second numerology904.

In some examples, second system information for the second numerology904 may differ from the system information from the MSIB correspondingto the primary numerology 902. For example, the second systeminformation for the second numerology 904 may indicate a differentnumerology for the PDSCH for a given slot than that of the secondarycontrol channel 916. The second system information may further indicatea different bandwidth for a secondary data channel 918 (e.g., a PDSCH).That is, the bandwidth of the secondary data channel 918 may differ fromthat of the secondary common control channel 916, and the bandwidth ofthe secondary data channel 918 in one numerology may differ from thebandwidth of a data channel in another numerology. Furthermore, thebandwidth of data channels in a given numerology may vary from slot toslot, on a dynamic basis. In some examples, the system information mayinclude information to enable an overlapping between resources for oneor more channels of different numerologies.

After the UE 800 is redirected to the secondary common control channel916, and obtains system information for the second numerology 904, atblock 1018, the UE 800 may monitor the secondary common control channel916 to obtain any grant for a data channel 918 (e.g., a downlink datachannel PDSCH).

In some examples, the secondary downlink data channel 918 may use thesecond numerology 904. That is, a slot having the secondary controlchannel 916 of the second numerology 904 may remain with the same secondnumerology in its data portion 918.

In a further aspect of the disclosure, a redirection to a secondnumerology does not preclude an advanced UE 800 from monitoring morethan one numerology at the same time. That is, such an advanced UE 800,when it receives such a redirection indication, may simply add thesecondary control channel 916 to a list of control channels to monitoron the mixed-numerology carrier 900, while still monitoring the primarycontrol channel 908 at the primary numerology 902.

As mentioned above, another aspect of the disclosure provides formultiple numerologies to be multiplexed onto a mixed-numerology carrier,where each numerology has its own respective SS. In this example, byutilizing a single, common numerology for SS's at all numerologieswithin a mixed-numerology carrier 1100, a network may be enabled to addnew numerologies over time without affecting compatibility with legacyUEs.

FIG. 11 is a schematic illustration of an illustrative example of amixed-numerology carrier 1100, which multiplexes communications withdifferent numerologies 1102 and 1104, according to one aspect of thepresent disclosure. In the example illustrated in FIG. 11, a firstnumerology 1102 is multiplexed with a second numerology 1104 within asingle carrier 1100 utilizing FDM. However, unlike the example describedabove with a single SS, in this illustration, multiple SS's may betransmitted on the carrier 1100. For example, a first SS 1106 may betransmitted for the first numerology 1102, and a second SS 1118 may betransmitted for the second numerology 1104. In the particular example ofFIG. 11, the first SS 1106 and the second SS 1118 each use the samenumerology as one another (e.g., the first numerology). That is, in someaspects of the disclosure, a single, common SS numerology may beutilized for each of a plurality of SS's 1106 and 1118, wherein therespective SS's 1106 and 1118 map to different respective common controlchannels 1108 and 1120. Furthermore, the respective common controlchannels 1108 and 1120 may have different numerologies from one another,and/or different numerologies than their respective SS 1106, 1118. Thus,to gain access to the carrier 1100, for any given numerology, a UE 800may search for an SS with a given (e.g., predetermined) SS numerology.

The operation of a UE or scheduled entity 800 acquiring themixed-numerology carrier 1100 will now be described with reference toFIGS. 11 and 12. FIG. 12 is a flow chart illustrating an exemplaryprocess 1200 for a UE 800 to acquire a mixed-numerology carrier 1100 inaccordance with some aspects of the disclosure. As described below, someor all illustrated features may be omitted in a particularimplementation within the scope of the present disclosure, and someillustrated features may not be required for implementation of allembodiments. In some examples, the process 1200 may be carried out bythe scheduled entity 800 illustrated in FIG. 8. However, the process1200 is not limited thereto. In other examples, the process 1200 may becarried out by any suitable apparatus or means for carrying out thefunctions or algorithm described below.

At block 1202, a UE 800 may search the mixed-numerology carrier 1100 foran SS, having the SS numerology. That is, to gain access to theinformation on the mixed-numerology carrier 1100, a UE 800 may utilizean SS raster 842, in the same way as described above with respect toFIGS. 9-10. Similar to the example described above in FIGS. 9-10, byvirtue of the carrier 1100 including a single, common numerology for theSS's 1106 and 1118, all UEs that seek to access the carrier 1100 maysearch for an SS utilizing that common SS numerology.

At block 1204, during the search, the UE 800 may identify a first SS,e.g., SS 1106. Once the first SS 1106 is identified, the UE 800 may readcontrol information such as a MIB carried on a PBCH on the SS 1106. Thiscontrol information may include configuration information or parametersfor a first common control channel 1108, such as its location, itsbandwidth, its numerology, etc. That is, as in the single SS exampledescribed above in relation to FIGS. 9-10, here, an SS 1106 may includea MIB that maps to a common control channel 1108. However, unlike thesingle SS example described above, in a further aspect of thedisclosure, there is no primary and secondary common control channel.That is, each control channel 1108 and 1120, and each numerology 1102and 1104, may essentially be on equal footing with its own SS 1106 or1118, each having a respective MIB that maps to a corresponding commoncontrol channel 1108 or 1120.

In this example, because a plurality of SS's 1106 and 1118 share thesame SS numerology, but those SS's may not correspond to communicationslots with the same numerology, the UE 800 may not know which numerologycommunication channel it has located in its search. The MIB in the firstSS 1106 may indicate a numerology for that SS's corresponding commoncontrol channel 1108. Here, as illustrated in FIG. 11, the commoncontrol channels 1108 and 1120 may have different numerologies from oneanother. Any other suitable differences may exist as well withindifferent MIBs.

Thus, when the UE 800 identifies an SS via its search, such as the firstSS 1106, the UE 800 may read its MIB to obtain configuration informationor parameters for the corresponding common control channel 1108,including, for example, its numerology.

In an aspect of the disclosure, at block 1206, the UE 800 may determinewhether it supports the numerology of the common control channel 1108corresponding to the identified SS 1106. For example, if the MIB carriedin the SS 1106 indicates a numerology that the UE 800 does not support,then at block 1212, the UE 800 may forgo to receive the common controlchannel 1108 corresponding to the identified SS 1106, and return toblock 1202, continuing to search the carrier for another SS. In anotheraspect of the disclosure, the SS 1106 may include information about thelocation of one or more other SS's in the mixed-numerology carrier 1100.In this way, if the UE 800 does not support the numerology indicated inthe identified SS 1106, the UE 800 may not be required to resume itssearch for another SS within the mixed-numerology carrier 1100. Rather,at optional block 1211, the UE 800 may easily direct to the second SS(e.g., SS 1118) based on the information contained in the received SS1106, and the process may proceed to block 1204, as described above.

When the UE 800 finds a numerology it can support, then at block 1208,the UE 800 may utilize the configuration information or parametersreceived in the MIB to monitor the corresponding common control channel1108. From that common control channel 1108, the UE 800 may obtaincontrol information corresponding to a data channel, such as a grant orother information corresponding to SIBs in the data channel 1110.Accordingly, the UE 800 may receive the data channel 1110 and may readthe MSIB to retrieve the full system information.

In a further aspect of the disclosure, different system information fromdifferent MSIBs in different traffic channels 1108 and 1122 may specifythe same channel within the carrier 1100, but with differentnumerologies. That is, the same resources within the mixed-numerologycarrier 1300 may be handled as having different numerologies bydifferent UEs in the cell that acquired the different respective SS's.

As with the above examples, once the UE 800 obtains the systeminformation, at block 1214 the UE 800 may gain access to the carrier1100 through a RACH procedure 1112, utilizing resources defined in theMSIB. After making the RACH transmission 1112, at block 1216, the UE 800may monitor for a RACH response on the carrier 1100. In some examples,as illustrated in FIG. 11, a RACH response may be located within acommon control channel 1114 in a slot subsequent to the RACHtransmission 1112. Subsequently, at block 1218, the UE 800 maycommunicate over the carrier 1100 utilizing the supported numerology(e.g., the first numerology 1102), e.g., by receiving a grant in the DLcontrol channel 1114, identifying resources in a corresponding datachannel (e.g., PDSCH) 1116; and subsequently, receiving DL data in theidentified PDSCH resources.

In a further aspect of the disclosure, a scheduling entity 700 may stillredirect a UE 800 to a different numerology, e.g., through RRC signalingas described above in relation to FIGS. 9-10 corresponding to thesingle, common SS example, if there is need (e.g., for offloading orload balancing).

As mentioned above, another aspect of the disclosure provides formultiple numerologies to be multiplexed onto a mixed-numerology carrier,where each numerology has its own respective SS, and where therespective SS's have different numerologies than one another.

FIG. 13 is a schematic illustration of an illustrative example of amixed-numerology carrier 1300, which multiplexes communications withdifferent numerologies 1302 and 1304, according to a further aspect ofthe present disclosure. In the example illustrated in FIG. 13, a firstnumerology 1302 is multiplexed with a second numerology 1304 within asingle carrier 1300 utilizing FDM. However, unlike the examplesdescribed above, in this illustration, multiple SS's having differentnumerologies may be transmitted on the carrier 1300. For example, afirst SS 1306 may be transmitted for the first numerology 1302, and asecond SS 1318 may be transmitted for the second numerology 1304. In theparticular example of FIG. 13, the first SS 1306 uses the firstnumerology 1302, and the second SS uses the second numerology 1304.Furthermore, the first SS 1306 maps to a first common control channel1308 using the first numerology 1302, and the second SS 1318 maps to asecond common control channel 1320 using the second numerology 1304.Thus, to gain access to the carrier 1300, a UE 800 may search for an SSusing a selected numerology from among a plurality of numerologies onthe mixed-numerology carrier 1300.

The operation of a base station or scheduling entity 700 transmittingthe mixed-numerology carrier 1300 will now be described with referenceto FIGS. 13 and 14. FIG. 14 is a flow chart illustrating an exemplaryprocess 1400 for a base station 700 to transmit a mixed-numerologycarrier 1300 in accordance with some aspects of the disclosure. Asdescribed below, some or all illustrated features may be omitted in aparticular implementation within the scope of the present disclosure,and some illustrated features may not be required for implementation ofall embodiments. In some examples, the process 1400 may be carried outby the scheduling entity 700 illustrated in FIG. 7. However, the process1400 is not limited thereto. In other examples, the process 1400 may becarried out by any suitable apparatus or means for carrying out thefunctions or algorithm described below.

At block 1402, the scheduling entity 700 may transmit a first SS 1306using a first numerology 1302 on a mixed-numerology carrier 1300. Here,the first SS 1306 may include first configuration information orparameters corresponding to a first channel (e.g., a first commoncontrol channel) 1308 on the carrier 1300. At block 1404, the schedulingentity 700 may transmit a second SS 1318 using a second numerology 1304on a mixed-numerology carrier 1300. Here, the second SS 1318 may includesecond configuration information or parameters corresponding to a secondchannel (e.g., a second common control channel) 1320 on the carrier1300.

In this example, like the example of FIG. 11, each SS 1306 and 1318 maycarry MIB information, and the MIB in different SS's may carry differentinformation from one another. However, in this example shown in FIG. 13,the SS may not necessarily include information about the numerology ofits corresponding common control channel. That is, the numerology of theSS itself may map to the numerology of its corresponding common controlchannel, such that an explicit indication of the numerology of thecommon control channel may not be needed.

In this example, for a UE 800 to gain access to the carrier 1300, the UE800 may be preconfigured for a preferred or supported numerology. Thus,the UE 800 may search for a particular SS in that preferred or supportednumerology. When conducting the search, the UE 800 would not identifyany SS with a numerology different from the preferred or supportednumerology, and would only identify SS's with the preferred or supportednumerology.

In an aspect of the disclosure, providing different SS's with differentnumerologies can enable placement of the respective SS's on different SSrasters, to speed up a UE's search. That is, SS's of differentnumerologies may be located in a different set of possible locations inthe carrier 1300. Accordingly, a UE 800 searching for an SS of aparticular numerology need only search for SS's having that particularnumerology, reducing the scope of its search and potentially improvingsearch speed.

In some examples, different (e.g., neighboring) base stations orscheduling entities 700 may transmit SS's of the same numerology,utilizing the same raster. In this way, neighbor cell monitoring may beeased for UEs, since a UE 800 may not be required to retune its receiver810 rx in order to monitor SS transmissions from a neighbor cell.

When a UE 800 identifies an SS 1306, the UE 800 may read a MIB carriedon a PBCH, to obtain configuration information or parameters for acorresponding common control channel 1308. That is, the SS 1306 maps toa corresponding common control channel 1308 (e.g., a channel using thesame numerology as the SS). With the MIB, the UE 800 may monitor thecommon control channel to obtain the control information correspondingto a data channel, such as a grant or other information corresponding toSIBs in the data channel 1310. Accordingly, the UE 800 may receive thedata channel 1310 and may read the MSIB to retrieve the full systeminformation.

In a further aspect of the disclosure, different system information fromdifferent MSIBs carried in different common control channels may specifythe same traffic channel, with different numerologies. That is, the sameresources within the mixed-numerology carrier 1300 may be handled ashaving different numerologies by different UEs in the cell that acquiredthe different respective SS's.

As in the above example, once the UE 800 obtains the system information,the UE 800 may gain access to the carrier 1300 via a RACH procedure1312, utilizing resources defined in the MSIB. After making the RACHtransmission 1312, the UE 800 may monitor for a RACH response on thecarrier 1300. In some examples, as illustrated in FIG. 13, a RACHresponse may be located within a common control channel 1314 in a slotsubsequent to the RACH transmission 1312. Subsequently, the UE 800 maycommunicate over the carrier 1300 utilizing the corresponding numerology(e.g., the first numerology 1302), e.g., by receiving a grant in the DLcontrol channel 1314, identifying resources in a corresponding datachannel (e.g., PDSCH) 1316; and subsequently, receiving DL data in theidentified PDSCH resources.

In a further aspect of the disclosure, as in the single SS exampledescribed above, here, a scheduling entity 700 may redirect a UE 800 todifferent numerologies, e.g., through RRC signaling, for offloading orload balancing across numerologies.

FIG. 15 is a flow chart illustrating an exemplary process 1500 for abase station 700 to transmit a mixed-numerology carrier in accordancewith further aspects of the disclosure. As described below, some or allillustrated features may be omitted in a particular implementationwithin the scope of the present disclosure, and some illustratedfeatures may not be required for implementation of all embodiments. Insome examples, the process 1500 may be carried out by the schedulingentity 700 illustrated in FIG. 7. However, the process 1500 is notlimited thereto. In other examples, the process 1500 may be carried outby any suitable apparatus or means for carrying out the functions oralgorithm described below.

At block 1502, the scheduling entity 700 may transmit a first SS using afirst numerology on a mixed-numerology carrier. Here, the first SS mayinclude first configuration information or parameters corresponding to afirst channel (e.g., a first common control channel) on the carrier. Atblock 1504, the scheduling entity 700 may transmit the first channel onthe carrier, using a first numerology. Here, the first channel may carrycontrol information corresponding to a first data channel on thecarrier. Further, at block 1506, the scheduling entity 700 may transmitthe first data channel according to the control information. Here, thefirst data channel may carry information sufficient for a UE to accessthe carrier (e.g., the MSIB).

At block 1508, the scheduling entity 700 may transmit the second channel(e.g., a second common control channel) using the second numerology.Here, the second channel may carry control information corresponding toa second data channel on the carrier. Further, at block 1510, thescheduling entity 700 may transmit the second data channel according tothe control information. Here, the second data channel may carryinformation sufficient for a UE to access the carrier (e.g., the MSIB).

Several aspects of a wireless communication network have been presentedwith reference to an exemplary implementation. As those skilled in theart will readily appreciate, various aspects described throughout thisdisclosure may be extended to other telecommunication systems, networkarchitectures and communication standards.

By way of example, various aspects may be implemented within othersystems defined by 3GPP, such as Long-Term Evolution (LTE), the EvolvedPacket System (EPS), the Universal Mobile Telecommunication System(UMTS), and/or the Global System for Mobile (GSM). Various aspects mayalso be extended to systems defined by the 3rd Generation PartnershipProject 2 (3GPP2), such as CDMA2000 and/or Evolution-Data Optimized(EV-DO). Other examples may be implemented within systems employing IEEE802.11 (Wi-Fi), IEEE 802.16 (WiMAX), IEEE 802.20, Ultra-Wideband (UWB),Bluetooth, and/or other suitable systems. The actual telecommunicationstandard, network architecture, and/or communication standard employedwill depend on the specific application and the overall designconstraints imposed on the system.

Within the present disclosure, the word “exemplary” is used to mean“serving as an example, instance, or illustration.” Any implementationor aspect described herein as “exemplary” is not necessarily to beconstrued as preferred or advantageous over other aspects of thedisclosure. Likewise, the term “aspects” does not require that allaspects of the disclosure include the discussed feature, advantage ormode of operation. The term “coupled” is used herein to refer to thedirect or indirect coupling between two objects. For example, if objectA physically touches object B, and object B touches object C, thenobjects A and C may still be considered coupled to one another—even ifthey do not directly physically touch each other. For instance, a firstobject may be coupled to a second object even though the first object isnever directly physically in contact with the second object. The terms“circuit” and “circuitry” are used broadly, and intended to include bothhardware implementations of electrical devices and conductors that, whenconnected and configured, enable the performance of the functionsdescribed in the present disclosure, without limitation as to the typeof electronic circuits, as well as software implementations ofinformation and instructions that, when executed by a processor, enablethe performance of the functions described in the present disclosure.

One or more of the components, steps, features and/or functionsillustrated in FIGS. 1-14 may be rearranged and/or combined into asingle component, step, feature or function or embodied in severalcomponents, steps, or functions. Additional elements, components, steps,and/or functions may also be added without departing from novel featuresdisclosed herein. The apparatus, devices, and/or components illustratedin FIGS. 1-14 may be configured to perform one or more of the methods,features, or steps described herein. The novel algorithms describedherein may also be efficiently implemented in software and/or embeddedin hardware.

It is to be understood that the specific order or hierarchy of steps inthe methods disclosed is an illustration of exemplary processes. Basedupon design preferences, it is understood that the specific order orhierarchy of steps in the methods may be rearranged. The accompanyingmethod claims present elements of the various steps in a sample order,and are not meant to be limited to the specific order or hierarchypresented unless specifically recited therein.

The previous description is provided to enable any person skilled in theart to practice the various aspects described herein. Variousmodifications to these aspects will be readily apparent to those skilledin the art, and the generic principles defined herein may be applied toother aspects. Thus, the claims are not intended to be limited to theaspects shown herein, but are to be accorded the full scope consistentwith the language of the claims, wherein reference to an element in thesingular is not intended to mean “one and only one” unless specificallyso stated, but rather “one or more.” Unless specifically statedotherwise, the term “some” refers to one or more. A phrase referring to“at least one of” a list of items refers to any combination of thoseitems, including single members. As an example, “at least one of: a, b,or c” is intended to cover: a; b; c; a and b; a and c; b and c; and a, band c. All structural and functional equivalents to the elements of thevarious aspects described throughout this disclosure that are known orlater come to be known to those of ordinary skill in the art areexpressly incorporated herein by reference and are intended to beencompassed by the claims. Moreover, nothing disclosed herein isintended to be dedicated to the public regardless of whether suchdisclosure is explicitly recited in the claims. No claim element is tobe construed under the provisions of 35 U.S.C. § 112(f) unless theelement is expressly recited using the phrase “means for” or, in thecase of a method claim, the element is recited using the phrase “stepfor.”

What is claimed is:
 1. A user equipment (UE) configured for wirelesscommunication, comprising: a processor; a transceiver communicativelycoupled to the processor; and a memory communicatively coupled to theprocessor, wherein the processor is configured for: searching a carrierfor a sync signal (SS) having an SS numerology, wherein the carriercomprises waveforms of a plurality of numerologies including the SSnumerology, a first numerology, and a second numerology; detecting afirst SS and reading first configuration information and additionalinformation, each carried on the first SS, wherein the additionalinformation relates to a second SS on the carrier, which maps to asecond channel on the carrier; and receiving the second channel, via thetransceiver, based on the additional information.
 2. The UE of claim 1,wherein the second channel has the second numerology.
 3. The UE of claim1, wherein the second numerology is different from the SS numerology. 4.The UE of claim 1, wherein the second numerology is different from thefirst numerology.
 5. The UE of claim 1, wherein the SS numerology is thesame as the first numerology, and the second numerology differs from theSS numerology and the first numerology.
 6. The UE of claim 1, whereinthe first configuration information corresponds to a first channel onthe carrier, and indicates that the first channel has the firstnumerology.
 7. The UE of claim 1, wherein the plurality of numerologiescomprises at least two different numerologies.
 8. A method of wirelesscommunication operable at a user equipment (UE), comprising: searching acarrier for a sync signal (SS) having an SS numerology, wherein thecarrier comprises waveforms of a plurality of numerologies including theSS numerology, a first numerology, and a second numerology; detecting afirst SS and reading first configuration information and additionalinformation, each carried on the first SS, wherein the additionalinformation relates to a second SS on the carrier, which maps to asecond channel on the carrier; and receiving the second channel based onthe additional information.
 9. The method of claim 8, wherein the secondchannel has the second numerology.
 10. The method of claim 8, whereinthe second numerology is different from the SS numerology.
 11. Themethod of claim 8, wherein the second numerology is different from thefirst numerology.
 12. The method of claim 8, wherein the SS numerologyis the same as the first numerology, and the second numerology differsfrom the SS numerology and the first numerology.
 13. The method of claim8, wherein the first configuration information corresponds to a firstchannel on the carrier, and indicates that the first channel has thefirst numerology.
 14. The method of claim 8, wherein the plurality ofnumerologies comprises at least two different numerologies.
 15. A userequipment (UE) configured for wireless communication, comprising: meansfor searching a carrier for a sync signal (SS) having an SS numerology,wherein the carrier comprises waveforms of a plurality of numerologiesincluding the SS numerology, a first numerology, and a secondnumerology; means for detecting a first SS and reading firstconfiguration information and additional information, each carried onthe first SS, wherein the additional information relates to a second SSon the carrier, which maps to a second channel on the carrier; and meansfor receiving the second channel based on the additional information.16. The UE of claim 15, wherein the second channel has the secondnumerology.
 17. The UE of claim 15, wherein the second numerology isdifferent from the SS numerology.
 18. The UE of claim 15, wherein thesecond numerology is different from the first numerology.
 19. The UE ofclaim 15, wherein the SS numerology is the same as the first numerology,and the second numerology differs from the SS numerology and the firstnumerology.
 20. The UE of claim 15, wherein the first configurationinformation corresponds to a first channel on the carrier, and indicatesthat the first channel has the first numerology.
 21. The UE of claim 15,wherein the plurality of numerologies comprises at least two differentnumerologies.
 22. A non-transitory computer readable medium storingcomputer executable code, comprising instructions for causing a userequipment (UE) configured for wireless communication, to: search acarrier for a sync signal (SS) having an SS numerology, wherein thecarrier comprises waveforms of a plurality of numerologies including theSS numerology, a first numerology, and a second numerology; detect afirst SS and reading first configuration information and additionalinformation, each carried on the first SS, wherein the additionalinformation relates to a second SS on the carrier, which maps to asecond channel on the carrier; and receive the second channel based onthe additional information.
 23. The non-transitory computer readablemedium of claim 22, wherein the second channel has the secondnumerology.
 24. The non-transitory computer readable medium of claim 22,wherein the second numerology is different from the SS numerology. 25.The non-transitory computer readable medium of claim 22, wherein thesecond numerology is different from the first numerology.
 26. Thenon-transitory computer readable medium of claim 22, wherein the SSnumerology is the same as the first numerology, and the secondnumerology differs from the SS numerology and the first numerology. 27.The non-transitory computer readable medium of claim 22, wherein thefirst configuration information corresponds to a first channel on thecarrier, and indicates that the first channel has the first numerology.28. The non-transitory computer readable medium of claim 22, wherein theplurality of numerologies comprises at least two different numerologies.